Eco-Innovation and Directionality

Jonas Kreutzer

2023-09-12

Environmental Innovation

Eco-Innovation = Green Innovation = Environmental Innovation

…fewer adverse effects on the environment and more efficient use of resources (García-Granero et al., 2018, p. 305).

Types of Eco-Innovation

Product
101 Use new cleaner material or new input with lower environmental impact
102 Use of recycled materials
103 Reduction / optimization of raw material use
104 Component number reduction
105 Elimination of dirty components
106 Longer life cycle products
107 Recyclability of product
Process
201 Reduce Chemical Waste
202 Reduce Use of Water
203 Reduce Use of Energy
204 Keep waste to a minimum
205 Reuse of components
206 Recycle waste, water or materials
207 Environmental-friendly technologies
208 R&D
209 Acquisition of machinery and software
210 Acquisition of patents and licenses
Organizational
301 Green human resources
302 Pollution prevention plans
303 Environmental objectives
304 Environmental audit
305 Environmental advisory
306 Invest in research
307 Cooperation with stakeholders
308 New markets
309 New systems (remanufacturing systems and transport systems)
Marketing
401 Returnable/reusable packaging
402 Green design packaging
403 Quality certifications

(García-Granero et al., 2018, pp. 309–311) {.slide-cite}

eco-innovation \(\neq\) sustainable technology

Beemsterboer & Kemp (2016)

Directionality

Directed Technical Change

Example paper: Moscona & Sastry (2022)

Question Is innovation in plants directed to increase yield, or resilience of crops?

Data U.S. patent data, Plant variety protection certificates & U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Variety Name List

Main Finding Innovation directed to more resilient crops, driven by local climate conditions

Directionality

: relating to direction or guidance especially of thought or effort

Eco-Innovation and Directionality in an African Context

Mulugetta et al. (2022)

Policy

Market Tools

Taxation and Subsidies

For example contained in,

  • Bidenomics

  • EU Green Deal

Systemic Tools

IVL - Swedish Environmental Institute (Bergquist & Söderholm, 2011)

Transition Tools

Mazzucato (2016)

Appendix

Drawings Environmental Innovation

Drawings Directionality

Drawings Policy

References

Aghion, P., Antonin, C., & Bunel, S. (2021). The power of creative destruction: Economic upheaval and the wealth of nations. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Beemsterboer, S., & Kemp, R. (2016). Sustainability Assessment of Technologies. In H. Heinrichs, P. Martens, G. Michelsen, & A. Wiek (Eds.), Sustainability Science (pp. 71–83). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7242-6_6
Bergquist, A.-K., & Söderholm, K. (2011). Green Innovation Systems in Swedish Industry, 1960. Business History Review, 85(4), 677–698. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007680511001152
García-Granero, E. M., Piedra-Muñoz, L., & Galdeano-Gómez, E. (2018). Eco-innovation measurement: A review of firm performance indicators. Journal of Cleaner Production, 191, 304–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.04.215
Mazzucato, M. (2016). From market fixing to market-creating: A new framework for innovation policy. Industry and Innovation, 23(2), 140–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2016.1146124
Moscona, J., & Sastry, K. A. (2022). Does Directed Innovation Mitigate Climate Damage? Evidence from U.S. Agriculture*. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, qjac039. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjac039
Mulugetta, Y., Sokona, Y., Trotter, P. A., Fankhauser, S., Omukuti, J., Somavilla Croxatto, L., Steffen, B., Tesfamichael, M., Abraham, E., Adam, J.-P., Agbemabiese, L., Agutu, C., Aklilu, M. P., Alao, O., Batidzirai, B., Bekele, G., Dagnachew, A. G., Davidson, O., Denton, F., … Yussuff, A. (2022). Africa needs context-relevant evidence to shape its clean energy future. Nature Energy, 7(11), 1015–1022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01152-0